Complete Record - Heirs of Hippocrates No. 1987

THEODOR MEYNERT (1833-1892) Psychiatrie. Klinik der Erkrankungen des Vorderhirns. Wilhelm Braumüller 1884 x, 288, 43 pp., [1] col. plate, illus. 23.6 cm.

Meynert was an illustrious figure in the development of neurology and psychiatry during the nineteenth century. It was his work that inspired the contributions of Forel (see No. 2110), Flechsig (see No. 2100), and Carl Wernicke (1848-1905), among others. A native of Dresden, Meynert studied medicine at Vienna where he graduated in 1861. He was one of the leading students of Rokitansky (see No. 1658 ff.) and was fortunate to enjoy Rokitansky's active support early in his career. He was appointed lecturer in 1865 and in 1866 became prosector at the Asylum for the Insane of Lower Austria, which enabled him to have access to ample autopsy specimens for his neuropathological studies. He became professor of psychiatry and director of the asylum's psychiatric clinic in 1870 and professor of nervous disorders in 1873. Meynert began his studies of the nervous system early in his scientific career. A major area of concentration was the composition of the cerebral cortex, which he believed could be used to help establish a scientific basis for psychiatry comparable to that of neurology. Meynert always strived to translate his anatomical findings into physiological explanations in order to develop his ideas of a scientifically based psychiatry. It was Meynert who first called attention to regional differences of function in the cortex and developed a number of new ideas about the function of the brain as an organ. He not only opened new avenues of research in the cerebral cortex but also pioneered in studying and interpreting the fiber pathway systems of the brain. He also developed a classification scheme of mental diseases based on anatomical principles but it did not survive the test of time. The present work, one of his many contributions, summarized his views and system of psychiatry based on his anatomical and physiological research. Although he included hypotheses which had not been tested or proven experimentally, many of his constructs have inspired new research and others have been confirmed with the passage of time. Meynert's German prose was difficult to understand so Bernard Sachs' (1858-1944) English translation was well received in 1885. Although the cover of the book indicated that a second part was to be published within a year, this was the only part to appear.

See Related Record(s): 2110 2100 1658

Cited references: Garrison-Morton 4942; Waller 6543

Gift of John Martin, M.D.